Romeo and Juliet it ain’t, but I’m still in love with First Dates
There is something rather crushing about watching a dating show where a couple appear to get along famously, only for the end credits to reveal that things didn’t work out.
this happened to holly and ricky on First Dates (Channel 4). She loved boxing, he was a cage fighter. She’d been hurt badly by a boyfriend who hadn’t supported her through illness, he was appalled by such callousness and vowed he would never treat her that way.
they were the last to leave the First Dates restaurant, hand in hand, gazing into one another’s eyes. Alas, the end credits revealed that holly had gone on to find love with an old school friend.
there was never any hope for Jade and Lewis. She described herself as a ‘princess’ and was knocking back the tequila before her date even arrived. ‘this ain’t no nando’s,’ she observed as she admired the plush surroundings.
When Lewis admitted that he wasn’t the sort of guy who’d buy a woman a £900 pair of Louboutin heels, Jade decided they weren’t a match. But instead of waiting for the final interview where participants had to reveal whether they wanted to meet again — she did a runner half-way through the meal.
Anthony, 55, was described as an ‘aristocrat’ — albeit a penniless one with an Australian accent. he was desperate to find an heir so that his dubious ‘ Count’ title did not die with him.
that meant he was on the lookout for a much younger woman. When he first laid eyes on 40-yearold Sylvia, ‘ oh I say,’ was all Anthony could muster. An oldschool charmer, he soon had Sylvia eating out of his hand and on her way to becoming a countess.
What sets First Dates apart from other reality shows is that it doesn’t have a scripted or set-up feel. Which is why, now that it’s in its ninth series, it is still a thoroughly entertaining guilty pleasure.
Paddington Station 24/7 (Channel 5) was certainly not a pleasure to watch — guilty or otherwise. Focused on the staff and passengers at the busy London terminal, the only thing it did was to confirm everyone’s suspicions about how badly run our railways are.
In this episode, thousands of commuters were stranded due to hot weather affecting It equipment. no doubt the same equipment is also affected by cold weather.
Bosses leapt into action by having a series of crisis management meetings that resolved absolutely nothing.
Weary travellers were told to go to Waterloo and catch a train to reading from where services were ‘definitely’ running. except they weren’t and instead of being stranded at Paddington they were stranded at reading.
Jovial guard Mike asked passengers if they wanted the good news or the bad news.
‘the bad news is that there’s a signal failure. oh and there’s no good news,’ he joked. Just what you want to hear when you’ve paid £5,000 for a season ticket, as one harassed man had.
In the end, the problem was fixed by switching the It equipment off and on again. the next day the exact same problem occurred. the announcements about cancelled trains came thick and fast, including some about ‘partially cancelled trains’ — whatever they were.
Station manager Simon Butler was proud of the fact that Paddington attracted a better class of customer than some of the other mainline hubs.
Maybe so, but that didn’t make their journey any easier.
travelling by rail in this country is a frustrating enough experience. Watching a tv programme about it can only add to the misery. CHRiSTOPHER STEVENS is away.